Final paper by Martin Konstant

Iqan Course;

Final Paper; a short play.

Scene; a simple kitchen with family of three, mother, father and a teenage son.

The meal is over, parents Joe and Martha settling down to a cup of hot drink, son Mike fidgeting.

Joe; 'I know we agreed that Saturdays would be family time, but this is a very important meeting. I really appreciate the sacrifice the family makes...'

Martha, cool , a touch testy; 'Look, if you really feel it is important, then you must go, all I wanted was to do some shopping and then we could spend time in the garden - Michael stop fidgeting like that, you can't leave the table until you've eaten your salad, and I mean ALL of it!'

Mike; 'Yeah, like I served myself, I didn't ask for all this salad, why should I eat it?

Joe; 'Mike, it's true what your mother says, you really have to eat good food. - - You know, if you look back over several years, we are very lucky, let's think of all the good things in our lives.'

Martha, impatient; 'You only want to make me feel guilty for wanting some family time, I know all the good things in our lives.'

Mike, 'Yea, like power to force poor Mikey to eat all this...' gestures towards his plate with bits of salad still on it.

Joe; 'No, seriously, we both have good jobs and a reasonable income, we've come a long way in the last five or six years, we now each have transport, Mike's is only a little motorbike, but he gets around. We have security, a wonderful home and - maybe most important, excellent health and a really good circle of friends.'

Mike, 'Lots of people have all of that and they don't have to eat ...'

Martha cutting in; 'Yes, but moderation in all things, we must be careful not to overstep the bounds of moderation. We all serve the Faith as much as we can, much more than a lot of people - I'm not going to mention names, but lots of others are very happy and have loads of blessings and serve only a fraction of what we do, I think we should find a way to cut back.'

Mike; 'Yea Dad, I wanted to go to the movies on Saturday, it is family day and we could see "Power of the Dread-Break" - it's awesome man, there's this strong creature mixed good and bad.....'

Joe; 'Hey Mike, we don't want to hear blow by blow of a movie you fancy. I heard you, maybe we can see Power Breakbread some other time and as for being together Martha, I appreciate what you say, can't we put that off until next week?'

Martha, testy. 'You have said that often enough and when next week comes around it'll be something else. I am actually beginning to feel really quite angry about it all.'

Mike; 'But what if one of us had a terminal disease, the monster of Dread-Break gave a sort of incurable disease by just a look...'

Joe; 'Hey, that's a thought, imagine one or all of us had a terminal disease, - we've got five years to live! How would you use up your weekends then?'

Silence for a bit, then Joe continues;-

'This would actually be a problem, because if we want to really show adequate love to God, we should have a good life with plenty of potential to give, not a miserable little five terminal years. The point is, have we the courage and foresight to give a good life to God, I mean like the life we now have right here and now?'

Martha. "I think we are already giving our lives to the Cause, the thing is not to overbalance, we have to keep the balance so that our service is sustainable. You have often said we should pace ourselves.'

Mike, having eaten his salad in a rush. 'There you are mum, may I leave the table now and thank you for the food...' He gets up to go as he speaks,

Martha. Mumbles, 'You're welcome... Mike! Don't just leave your plate on the sink, there are no servants here, rinse it and put it neatly where it must be.'

Joe. "I think you can manage without me around here now, if I were to go away for a year or so, you'd be o.k. wouldn't you?'

Martha. Ignoring his remark, getting up and gathering her cup and saucer; 'Mike, come back here and put your plate where it should be.'

Joe. 'I think that would be the right thing to do. I think I should take one full year while I am still strong enough and go to America to teach the Cause.'

Martha - 'America? Why on earth go to America? They've got more Baha'is in one big city than we have in the whole country. You should go to an African country.'

Joe. 'No, I think I should go to America for two reasons - actually three. Firstly it was American pioneers who brought the Faith to us here, we owe them a 'thank you'. Secondly however many Baha'is they may have they are still headed in the wrong direction and the whole world actually needs them to turn around - here they're screaming about terrorists and bent on making war with foreigners when their own state of unity is so dismal. Remember that American lawyer who came by and said that they had, in the last ten years or so, built ten prisons in his area and filled them mostly with young non-whites while they had not even built one new university!'

Mike, hovering in the doorway; 'Yea Dad, so you gonna go and tell them to leave the terrorists and embrace their brothers and sisters' Mimicking African American TV personalities 'Love brother, give me an embrace and give me your money. This is the time for deeds and not words, show your love by sacrifice, how much have you got, Oh my heart is full of love- loooove my brother?'

Martha. 'O.K., save the world by transforming America, wow! There's a dream. Is this the result of this course on the Iqan you've just completed? What was the third reason?'

Joe, 'See the suffering of Africa? That's a sure sign that enough of the people of Africa are not turning towards the Blessed Beauty. I don't know what I can do for our folk, I don't know what more I can do than I am already doing.'

Martha, 'Well you could start by taking Mike with you; it's time Mike started to give and not take take take. How long are you going to attend children classes and youth classes and just dance and sing and play games.'

Mike 'We don't just play games, we do serious work.'

Joe. 'A return ticket would cost about ten thousand Rand, I think I'm going to write to them and see what opportunities exist.'

Mike 'We definitely don't just play games, you remember that project I did just last week on the prophecy about lesser peace, and what about the play we did for you, yes, we had to entertain you.'

Martha; 'But you only do your home work when I scream at you, you're a wheelbarrow, only move when you're pushed, but I'm running out of energy to push.'

Joe. 'I'm sure there's nothing much that I could do. I have a sort of book and a couple of African plays, if I got a bunch of like minded folk to join me we might be able to earn some money. At the very least it would be learning experience and a major sacrifice.'

Martha; 'Yes, you would lose your job, your pension and all. You might lose your wife and family too. Fundamental Christians would call it rapture? I would use other words'.

Joe; 'Martha, it would be a sacrifice from our entire family, not just from me. It says in the Iqan; "O the pity, that man should deprive himself of this goodly gift, this imperishable bounty, this everlasting life. It behooveth him to prize this food that cometh from heaven..." The implication is that if you prize it enough, if you understand the suffering that has brought this Faith to you, you will surely share it and make mighty sacrifice to do so. I want to go for a year of full time service, can you two bear that load?'

Mike; 'Yeah Dad, can I come with you -' turning to his mother, 'You said I must go teaching with Dad, this would be coool - go to the U S of A.... ' minces around the kitchen like an American T.V. youth.

Joe, continuing. 'The trouble is, there's no body to write to, you see, everyone in any position would be like you, Martha, - - practical. The NTC or NSA or whatever, in America, would want the same kind of planning and finished practical proposal that you would want. I can't do that, I know too little. All I know is that I want to do something meaningful before my life's end. Maybe I'll write to the House. - - - I suppose they'd be the same.'

Martha turning away. 'Yes dear.'

Joe, more or less to himself; 'I should just go. . . . Like that Persian Canadian who just came here, went into a village and set up home among the poor, he went around telling everyone this is love, this is the home of love. Before you know what he had half the village attending his firesides.'

Martha is busy, Mike has gone.

Curtain.